Chaim Yehuda, a 34-year-old wedding singer and veteran poet from Beit Shemesh, comes out in a moving duet with his brother, the composer David Yehuda, on the single “Orcha Kvar Ya’ir“. A song of faith, longing and closeness to Hashem. It was born from hundreds of melodies sent to the singer, and only one of them made him cry.
Seventeen years of performing at weddings, celebrations, and synagogues have shaped Chaim Yehuda into a multi-stylistic artist: cantor, poet, Torah reader and wedding singer in a wide range of genres, from authentic Chassidic poetry to Israeli and piyutim. Despite the busy concert schedule, he hasn’t released a song of his own since 2014-2015, because he couldn’t find material that touched him deeply enough. Until “Orcha Kvar Ya’ir” arrived.
“I didn’t connect with many of the tunes people sent me,” explains Chaim Yehuda, “This song made me cry every time I listened to it. I said: Okay, this is the song. I want to fight for it. If it moved me, it can open hearts to different audiences. I have no doubt about that.”
The song was written and composed by a close composer: his brother David Yehuda, who is talented in Chaim’s eyes not because he is his brother but because the work spoke to him, suggested that his older brother join him in a duet, and the result was greater than the sum of its parts.
As is his custom with every project, Chaim Yehuda spared no expense in production. Alongside Amit Yitzchak, who plays guitar, the song was arranged by his son Elia Yitzchak. Haliliya Yechezkely plays kamancha. On drums, David Israel Cohen. Chaim says that the song went through many ups and downs on the way to the studio, with Chaim and David Yehuda traveling from Beit Shemesh to Bat Ayin almost seven times just to record the vocals. Chaim says of this: “Rabbi Nachman promised that a song that goes through the most obstacles is a song that will succeed.”
“I am sure that the tears I cried will enter the hearts of the listeners and make them also cry and feel a longing and closeness to the Holy One, blessed be He,” he adds. “It will stir up a few bones in their hearts. I have no doubt and I am sure of it.”
Lyrics and music: David Yehuda
Arrangement and musical production: Elia Yitzchak